“For the love of money is the root of all evil.” 1 Timothy 6:10. You’ve probably heard this passage, or perhaps the principle behind it. Let’s talk about it.
Talking about money intermingled with a discussion on faith and Christianity kind of makes me feel dirty. It’s as if speaking of money or thinking of money is a sin.
Perhaps that’s just the stigma that I was born into. It’s almost as if we err on the side of caution regarding this subject. To not sin, we shy from talking about it – less we covet it.
That’s the key differentiation, however. Money isn’t a sin. Being wealthy isn’t a sin. It’s not necessarily a sin to have the ambition to be wealthy. The sin comes at the cost.
When does wealth become a sin?
Wealth becomes a sin when it becomes something idolized before God. When we focus our attention so much that it becomes our number one priority, then we are making our own god instead of worshipping our true God.
Other than that, money and wealth have the potential for great benefit – for ourselves, the Church, and for witnessing for Christ.
But in the back of my mind, I feel as though I need to be meek and mild. I need to be satisfied and content with what I’ve been given in life. To hope, wish, or dream for more is selfish and sinful.
But is that really true?
There are numerous times in the Bible where it expresses situations concerning the wealthy and the poor. Is this just another example of the “haves” vs the “have-nots?”
Because in not all situations are the rich portrayed as sinful – merely that they’re wealthy. Is this to suggest that if you happen to be rich, you should do good things with your finances, but if you’re poor – then you should just accept it?
I believe God gave us dreams for a reason.
Steve Harvey says that dreams are “a previewing of coming attractions.” By that, he means to say that the events that we dream about will happen, we just don’t know when.
So if I have dreams of being a successful entrepreneur, one who can provide for his family, build the house we’ve been working so hard for, and work from home doing a career that I love…..is that the coming attraction? Or is it a plain sinful desire?
This is why the subject of money and the Bible gets so confusing. It’s almost like the thought of it is a double standard in its very nature.
What we desire is money. God wants us to be happy and successful. He gives us the dreams to which we may accomplish this. It’s up to us to do the work to fulfill them.
That’s my belief anyway
Furthermore, I believe that intent is also to be taken into context when we’re talking about whether or not being wealthy is a sin.
For instance, if your only goal is to become wealthy so that you can own fancy cars and have several mansions, then that’s probably not as well received as someone who donates sizable capital to the less fortunate.
Maybe I’m just trying to convince myself
I wish it was as simple as this:
The Holy Spirit would speak plainly to me and say this, “Aaron, being wealthy is not a sin. In fact, you’ve dreamt about this and worked so hard towards it for so long that I’m gonna tell you what to do to accomplish your dreams. Just remember to use your newfound wealth to help others.”
Unfortunately, that’s not likely to happen. This is just another example of how studying the Bible can be confusing because we really don’t know all the answers.
Recap
For a long time, I though the verse said, “Money is the root of all evil.” That’s not what it says, however. It says, “Love of money is the root of all evil.”
Therefore, it’s not a sin to have money. It’s not a sin to be wealthy. Sin enters when we love money, especially to the extent in which we love it over God.
Other than that, I believe that money is the vessel in which we can help others and achieve our dreams. Both of those facets would no doubt be supported by God’s desire for us to be successful.
This is a complex, sensitive subject. I’ve shared my thoughts; what do you think? Let me know in the comments below!
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